Thinking and Writing About Digital Media

I rely quite heavily on social media. Most of the time I am disappointed by that habit, but it provides me with connections across the world, as well as news updates from not only local news stations, but news from other places that are important to me. I need to set rules for myself when browsing Facebook- it seems like I always have a tab open for it online. I love that I can connect with old friends and keep up with what they are doing. It makes me feel closer to them even though I am far away. This is a time with many media opportunities and I need to remember my responsibilities and get off of the computer more. I am a fan of Pinterest because I can gather ideas and see them all in one place, but I use it to fantasize and look at pretty pictures. YouTube is extremely helpful with instructional and inspirational videos, but if I get started doing anything other than school-related searches, I can be on there for hours. I also love television too much and it has gotten in the way of my schooling at times. I don’t normally have access to Netflix or Amazon Prime, but have lately and use it to entertain myself and escape the difficult responsibilities in my life. A friend has been trying to get me hooked on a TV Series so I told him I’d watch it over break. I loved it and knew I needed to finish it before school so I watched two and a half seasons in one week. I guess that was okay over the break but if I ever did anything like that during school, I would be done for. It’s that kind of media that doesn’t help me with my goals. The same can be said for most magazines. I don’t get the opportunity to read many unless I am at work, but still, it fills my head with unnecessary trash that can get in the way of what I need to do. I have tried media fasts, but then I come back and catch up on what I missed. I’ve even tried to set rules for myself so I can focus on other things, but it’s hard to be motivated when I don’t have to report to anyone. Being well versed in these media options is important because it can help me to connect with my students. I can use these social tools to help them learn and connect to the material, but need to be aware of the dangers. In recent classes, I’ve had assignments involving Twitter, Facebook, and quite often YouTube. These resources are so easy to access and involve my current interests so it is easy to do the work and enjoy it. That would be the hope with my students. I would want to use all of the tools in front of me so they can learn in the best way for them personally. I feel like High School students would also respect me and accept me because I am trying to connect with them and doing it in a cool way.